Curse of the Cabal
by Dr. Glove
Summary: The Teen Titans face a deadly and confusing enemy in the Cabal as they race to figure out the organization's master scheme. Can the Cabal be stopped before its plans reach fruition, or will it change the world as we know it forever?
1. But wait! There's more!

My apologies for the fact that this chapter contains only OCs, as it's not the best way to start off a story. However, this is the only OC only chapter. The plot simply does not make as much sense as it should without this introduction. Happy reading!

* * *

The bell above the door jingled lightly as the two men entered the café. The server looked them over. The first was short with unkempt black hair. He wore a black coat and slacks, and large sunglasses covered his eyes. He kept his hands in his pockets, apparently having pushed the door open with his shoulder. The second man was quite tall and young, looking like a college student, albeit a well-kempt one. He had wide eyes and a white polo, with wraparound sunglasses on his neck. He was quite bald, though the server figured he'd lost a bet of some kind. She approached the two and opened her mouth to greet them, but the first man stopped her.

"The private room, please? I believe _Club des Normes et des Pratiques_ has it reserved for this afternoon."

The server nodded. "Ah, yes, it is reserved for you. Please go on in. If you'd like any help, please come back to the counter."

"Thank you."

The two men each purchased coffee and walked into the room. Ten others were waiting for them. The two took a seat as a very tall and gaunt man closed the door behind them.

"We're all here, then?" Said the first man.

"You're the last, Jacques. But to be sure, I'll take attendance. Belmont, Chacal, Ferris, Jacques, Keppler, Lebel, Mason, Roger, Rodin, Sarah, Vivian, and I'm Valmy. We're all here."

Belmont was a blonde woman with long hair and much make up. She wore a somewhat casual black dress and white jacket. Chacal was a large, muscular man with moppish blonde hair, wearing a blue sweater and black sweat pants. Ferris was the second man, Jacques the first. Keppler was thin and short, with a navy blue suit and fedora and very red cheeks. Lebel was short, stocky, and pudgy, with graying hair and a mustache. He wore a simple tan coat and brown sweater and pants. Mason was of average build, wearing a black suit. Roger was the tall and gaunt man, with unkempt black hair and eerily wide eyes that never seemed to blink. He wore a black hooded shirt, though the hood was down. Rodin was an imposing figure, with a brutal face and brown hair. He had a long felt coat and gloves. Sarah was of average figure, wearing a blue cap over her brown ponytail, with a jacket to match. Vivian was undeniably fat, with trimmed black hair and horn-rimmed glasses. And Valmy was of average build, wearing a gray business suit. All of them had sunglasses, but only Jacques and Mason were wearing them.

"To business then." Said Chacal, chuckling slightly as he sipped some coffee. "Or are we going to get another speech about the importance of the plan?"

"To business." Valmy said, giving Chacal a sideways glance. "This may be the last time the Cabal meets like this, or even at all. If the plan succeeds or fails, either way the Cabal will be disbanded. You are all aware of how dangerous this plan is, and what will happen if we fail."

"We ought to know, we designed it after all." Vivian remarked offhandedly. "Look, we all know how hard this is going to be, but we can pull it off. We're the Cabal, after all."

Jacques smirked. "Yes, Valmy, get to the point. We know all this already."

"Very well." Valmy said, gesturing to Rodin. "Rodin, have all the arrangements been made?"

"They have." Rodin answered. "All of the transportation for us and Rainforest has been set up or reserved. False passports and identities have been prepared, and enough money to continue the operation for quite some time has been produced."

He pointed to a car out the window. "In the trunk are twelve suitcases containing one-hundred thousand pounds worth of money. Most are in dollars or Euro, however, as so many people moving about with that much money in pounds would become suspicious.

"The letters have been written up and the postage paid for, along with the necessary utilities for each job. We all know the plan, though hopefully only Phase 1 will be necessary if Rainforest pulls through. Those are the arrangements."

All nodded in approval. Lebel stood up. "We will all divide into teams of two, with our usual partners. Chacal and Roger will go to Ottawa and wait for our message until further notice. Valmy and Vivian will go to Norbusk to confirm the transportation, if need be. Rodin and Mason will go to Jump City to contact the Titans West if necessary. Keppler and Sarah will go to Steel City for Titans East, Jacques and Ferris will go to the Anchorage to find the unofficial Titans North, and Belmont and I will wait here until further notice, until Rainforest is found, at which time we will depart to collect him. Understood?"

Everyone nodded again, Chacal chuckling over a private thought. Lebel passed out envelopes to each team. "Each envelope contains the location of the necessary equipment for your posts, though if the job goes well most of you won't be needed. I have nothing further to say. Would anyone else like to speak?"

Nobody answered. Valmy stood back up. "Well then, the final official meeting of the Cabal comes to a close. Good luck, my friends, for if we succeed then we'll finally have what we've dreamed of for all these years."

Chacal looked over the contents of his envelope later as he and Roger drove back to their hotel. He chuckled once more. "Our plan can't possibly fail, Roger. The Teen Titans are just kids, they'll never figure it all out!"

Roger did not reply.


	2. Gondor Calls for Aid

And so we meet our beloved Titans. Or, at least, the still-unofficial Titans North.

There are two endings for the story, and you, dear readers, get to determine which one occurs. If ten or more people can correctly figure out the Cabal's plan, then the Titans win. If ten or more people can't, the Cabal wins. You each get one guess at the plan, and the only clues are in the story itself. Good luck!

* * *

Today was the day. 

She had talked about it with the other Titans of Titans East and West. She had found the people who wanted to join. She made the plans with the city. She had prepared everything quietly.

Gnarck, on the other hand, had made a big scene, ruining any and all dramatic effect. Oh well, a girl couldn't have everything, Kole reasoned, and Gnarck had tried his best…

But today was the day her new comrades would join her at the city they would soon protect, Anchorage. She and Gnarck had met them fighting against the Brotherhood of Evil, but they had not gotten very close. Now they would be able to. First there was Gnarck and herself, then a quiet samurai named Bushido, then another girl named Argent (Whom Kole thought was joining solely because of Bushido, but never mind that for now) and then a mute boy named Jericho.

Ahhhh, Jericho…

She woke up and leapt from her bed in the hotel she and Gnarck were staying in. It was quite different from their cave, but it was only temporary. She took a quick shower and breakfast. Gnarck tried to skip the shower, but Kole demanded that he look his best for the new Titans.

She and Gnarck went to the airport and found, to their surprise, that Bushido's plane had been ahead of schedule. Unfortunately, he had run afoul of the FAA with his katana. His new comrades would first meet him eight hours later, the young samurai in foul temper.

Jericho arrived slightly behind schedule. Kole and Gnarck waited excitedly for him to disembark. Kole saw him and waved happily, which he returned. She and Gnarck approached him. "Gnarck!"

"We're so glad you came!" Kole said. "You're the first one here (Can't find Bushido…) so we'll have to wait a bit, but this is still great! How was your flight?"

Jericho smiled at her enthusiasm and signed.

Kole was horrified to remember that she didn't know sign language. She managed to hide it from her new friend with increasingly vague remarks and quietly purchased Sign Language for Dummies without anyone noticing. As she did so Jericho went to collect his few bags from luggage, passing two tired members of the Cabal.

* * *

Jacques and Ferris had been given false identities of Mark Theiss and Taylor Jensen, respectively. The expertly forged cards and passports had aroused no suspicion. The pair had smuggled the four-hundred thousand dollars they had between them in the usual way of smugglers, hidden in the pockets and between the spare clothes in their suitcases, and, startlingly, in their wallets, ironically the last place anyone expected smugglers to hide their cargo.

The letter had remained in Jacques' pocket the entire trip.

He and Ferris were still quite tired from the flight, however, due not only to the time difference but the painful reality that international flights are just plain exhausting. The sheer enormity of the job they had to do soon bore heavily on their minds, and the added pressure of being among the only five who had to do anything for the moment (The others being Lebel, Belmont, and Rainforest) did little to ease them. But to anyone not privy to the Cabal's machinations they were simply two very weary travelers from London. They called their hotel to confirm the reservations, collected the rental car, and left to sleep off the flight.

* * *

Argent arrived several hours later. Kole made the mistake of waving happily to her. "I hate flying in planes!" Argent ranted for quite some time. "First getting your luggage checked, then waiting, then finding out your flight's been delayed, then waiting some more, then finally flying to your first stopover, waiting some more, then again and again and again until, one stopover away, New Zealand decides they don't like my passport! So I had to wait some more for that to clear up, missed my flight, and then just… just… argh!"

"Gnarck." Gnarck did not like flying either.

"Well, you're here at least. No more flying." Kole said.

"Whatever." Argent said, covering her eyes. "I just want to sleep."

Jericho signed, but she wasn't looking, so he tapped her on the shoulder and pointed to a screen. Argent looked, read the screen for a moment, and then drooped her head.

Her luggage had been mistakenly sent to Calvadores in Argentina.


	3. Epileptic Trees

A couple days later the still unofficial Titans North looked at the site where their tower was being built. Construction was conspicuously fast, but, then again, construction was always fast when it involves superheroes or villains. The foreman told them that the tower would be finished in about one more month, weather permitting. The new Titans simply sat and watched the construction for a while before leaving.

At the same time Jacques and Ferris arrived in Fairbanks, waited for a truck, and set off into the wilderness.

Jericho was tuning his guitar back at the hotel. The cold made it go out of tune much more than normal. Bushido, finally having gotten his katana back from the FAA, sharpened and oiled it to keep if from rusting or growing dull. Argent, meanwhile, was trying to quickly learn with Kole how to understand sign language. Kole, Argent found, learned things very quickly, much more quickly than herself. Soon Kole and Jericho could have actual conversations. Argent wasn't quite as quick, but she was getting there.

Gnarck was a different story.

The caveman couldn't understand Jericho, was somewhat afraid of the stoic Bushido, and inadvertently annoyed Argent too much. Not to mention how… technologically challenged (and phobic) Gnarck was. Life had grown hard for him since he and Kole had left the prehistoric paradise.

At dinner, now that Kole could understand Jericho and Argent could to a lesser extent (Bushido did not say very much), the new Titans could finally really get to know each other. Jericho was the most interested in conversation.

_I thought you and Gnarck did not want to leave your cavern in the Arctic._ He signed to Kole.

"We didn't, really." Kole sighed. Gnarck drooped his head. "There was an earthquake and the entire cavern collapsed. We didn't really have a place to go, so we went down to the Teen Titans and lived in Jump City for a while. Then Robin suggested we form Titans North, and here we are."

_Robin is a good person. I'm sorry about your home; I wish I could have seen it. It sounded beautiful._

"It was." Kole said.

"Gnarck."

"Weren't there dinosaurs in there too?" Argent asked.

"Mostly velociraptors."

"That's so neat!"

"Gnarck!"

* * *

Weeks passed. Jacques and Ferris returned from their trip to the wilderness, rested in Fairbanks, then returned to Anchorage. And at last the new tower was complete. The very next day the now official Titans North could finally move in. Bags already packed, everyone was restless. Gnarck was fooling around in the lobby when a hotel worker handed him a note. The caveman couldn't read, however, so he gave it to Kole.

"Gnarck!"

"What is it Gnarck? A letter?" She said, opening it. As she read it her eyes opened wide. "Hey! Everybody! We've got a problem here!"

The other Titans ran in. "Kole, what is it? Something wrong with the tower?" Argent asked.

"No, it's this letter. We've already got something big happening." Kole replied. "I'll read it aloud:"

_Titans North, a man once used one shot from a shotgun to cause millions of dollars in damages. By shooting the Alaskan Oil Pipeline, he not only caused millions in damages but also ruined entire acres of valuable wilderness. All that with a single shot. You can imagine, then, the kind of damage that would be caused if one were to detonate seven powerful bombs against the Alaskan Oil Pipeline._

_We have those seven bombs at seven locations along the twenty-two thousand miles of pipeline, and if you'd like us not to detonate them then you will follow our instructions closely and meet our demands exactly as specified. You will not contact any other heroes, not the Teen Titans or the Doom Patrol or anybody else. You must act entirely in secret. You must not attempt to locate and diffuse the bombs. You cannot try to follow us or anybody connected to us or we will detonate the bombs. If you tell the Teen Titans or anybody else about this once all transactions have been complete, the bombs will be detonated. You will meet our demands as follows:_

_1. One or more deceased cows that exhibited the following symptoms before death: Jerky movement, inability to stand properly or at all_

_2. A copy of all data stored on all discs, flash drives, and computers owned by Fiers Moslow, 11453 Blietter St. in Bedcuine, Luceme, without his knowledge_

_3. The entire city design map used by power companies and water companies of Ottawa, Ontario_

_4. A copy of the blueprints and schematics of the Canadian Capital Building_

_5. The name, address, and number of a person under alias "Rainforest" at ISP ABCE1569_

_You will leave 1. at Morningtide Trail's entrance within the truck that will be waiting. You will leave 2. at 93485 Clover Avenue in an enveloped marked Peter Jensen. You will leave 3. at 84226 Kayfabe Road in an envelope marked Mark Theiss. You will leave 4. with 2. and 5. with 3._

_If you should attempt to track down or follow anyone involved, we will detonate the bombs. If you attempt to look for all records of Peter Jensen or Mark Theiss then the bombs will be detonated. If you follow all instructions we will tell you the locations of the bombs._

_We want all demands met within two weeks._

_ The Cabal_

"They want a cow?..." Argent muttered to herself.


	4. The Password is always Swordfish

"This is insane." Argent said. "We haven't even moved in and already we've got some evil secret society attacking us."

"How did they even know about us? We haven't even started yet!" Kole exclaimed. Jericho signed _It was on the news_, but nobody saw him.

"So what do we do?" Kole asked the others. Argent shrugged, Jericho began pacing thoughtfully, Bushido leaned against the wall, and Gnarck was unhelpful. "Do we give in to the Cabal's demands, or what?"

"We'll first analyze the demands and the situation." Bushido calmly stated. "We'll see if we can figure out the plan, and then we'll find a way to thwart it. They probably have a way of monitoring the bombs, so diffusing them is out of the question." He took the letter from Kole.

"The first demand seems irrelevant, so we'll ignore it for now. But, because it is so… peculiar, it may in fact be the most important. The second demand is probably the most dangerous if the numbers turn out to be, say, launch codes or something. The third and fourth demands seem obviously related, so we'll definitely look into those two. And the last one could be the worst of all if this Rainforest turns out to be powerful. But how do they expect us to find him with just a number for… something."

"What does ISP stand for?" Kole muttered.

"Internet Service Provider." Argent explained. She smirked. "You guys aren't that big on electronics, are you? I'll bet Rainforest is a computer hacker." Bushido, Kole, and Gnarck looked blankly at her. "He steals stuff from computers. Using the Internet. Ya know…"

"So we ought to go out and find these things." Kole said. "Unless…. what if the Cabal is just trying to make us leave? Is there something here that they want but can't get because we're here?"

"That's very likely." Bushido said. "But it's also too risky to not prepare the demands. I think you, Kole, and Gnarck should stay here on the lookout for suspicious activity. You two are the best adapted for the cold anyway. So Argent, Jericho and I will try and get most of the demands."

Jericho walked in front of them. _I can probably get the numbers from Fiers. Luceme is in Switzerland, I think. I'll just possess him. While I'm there I might be able to get Rainforest._

"No, Argent ought to go get Rainforest." Kole said. "She knows about computers, so she'll be the best. Bushido can you go down to Ottawa?"

Bushido answered gruffly over Argent's protest ("I don't know_that_ much about computers…"), speaking through slightly gritted teeth. "Yes, provided the FAA does not take my sword. Again."

_Perhaps I'll get the cow._

"Then it's a plan!" Kole said. "Titans North's first mission!"

"Gnarck!"

* * *

"Do you think they'll figure us out?" Ferris asked Jacques in the diner as they waited for their order.

Jacques sipped his coffee. "Possibly. These are the most obvious of the demands, after all. But that's why they're up front like this. If they don't figure them out here and Rainforest works out, then success is a given. We have the fewest opportunities to fail this way."

"If they do figure it out?" Ferris asked.

"Well, that's why the Cabal isn't doing it in person. They'll just get the thugs we've hired, and they know us as Michael Ross and Tim Schuelbach." Jacques motioned with his head to the bag in the car that contained the disguises. "And even that's just if Rainforest doesn't work."

The waitress served their order, refilled their coffee and tea, and moved off. Ferris shook his head. "This is the absolute worst toast I've ever had."

"So stop ordering it then."

* * *

Titans North quietly moved into the tower ahead of schedule but didn't even bother unpacking. Argent went to purchase the tickets while everyone else simply waited.

"Hey, Jericho…" Kole began, walking up to him. "How did you know where Luceme was off the top of your head?"

Jericho sighed silently. _My father made sure my brother and I knew everything about Switzerland. It's a useful place, he said._

"What was so bad about your father?"

_My father was… is not a very nice person. We have little in common._

And they left it at that.


	5. Draco in Leather Pants

"Okay, I've got the stuff we'll need." Argent said, holding up several papers in her hand. "Jericho, I've MapTrek'ed how to get to Fiers' home in Blietter from the airport in Pomere. Um… good luck with the cow. Bushido, I printed off the electric map of Ottawa using Poogle, but you'll have to find the blueprints on your own. I'm going to see how to find ISP's. Oh, and Kole, Gnarck? If you could call me if my luggage finally gets here, it'd be nice."

She clenched her fists more than slightly angrily at this last request.

And so, Titans North set out on their missions. Jericho took a plane to Switzerland. Bushido managed to avoid the FAA. And Argent went to the library. But Kole and Gnarck couldn't do much, so they decided to help set things up in the tower. Progress was slow.

"Gnarck, don't touch those box-!"

"Gnaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarck!"

* * *

Fiers left his flat, locked the door, and looked around. The sky looked like rain. Fiers didn't like rain, it reminded him too much of his former wife. He sighed, walked to his car, and unlocked it. Just then he was tapped on the shoulder.

"Was sie wünschen?" He asked as he turned around. He found himself staring into the eyes of young, blond boy. The next thing he new he was at his desk at ten forty-eight.

Jericho took possession instantly. Aha, he knew exactly what to do. He drove into Fiers' office, arriving slightly behind the man's normal arrival time of seven thirty. Jericho logged in (The password, ominously, was "Moslow") and immediately began copying everything onto a freshly purchased portable hard drive. The process was arduous and took forever, and several times he was interrupted. ("Sie sind spät! Die sitzung hat begonnen!" "Ich bin sehr beschäftigt! Dieses ist sehr wichtig!") Ultimately, however, everything was copied, though two flash drives also had to be used. Jericho made sure nobody was around, then left Fiers' body and made his egress.

* * *

Argent, after much Poogling, had found ISP-Holmes, one of the very few online programs that could track down any ISP's location. Rainforest's ISP turned out to be an apartment building in Seoul, South Korea. She had had to search much longer and harder to find out that Rainforest, indeed, was a hacker, and a very dangerous one at that. He was part of an elite hacker club styling itself House Kendo. Each of the seven members of House Kendo had a peculiar alias (Rainforest, Astronomy, Hover, Pelican, Janitor, Brine, Special Victims Unit) and had a resume of trouble. Argent printed out all of this information and returned to the tower.

"Well, that was much easier than I thought it'd be." She said to Kole. "Um… what happened to Gnarck?"

"Don't ask." Kole replied. "Oh, they sent some luggage over. Unfortunately, it really belongs to 'Ozymandias the Wonder Wizard.'"

"Aargh!" Argent moaned.

* * *

Jacques and Ferris walked out of the toy store, having bought a chemistry set, and walked into Mal-Mart, where they purchased lots of needles, two pairs of swim goggles, a few gloves, and a few movies to pass the time.

* * *

Bushido had very little luck finding the blueprints for the Canadian capital building. Immediately suspicious, the Canadian police began interrogating him. Why do you want the blueprints? Do you want to plant a bomb? Start a fire? Are you part of an organization of terrorists? But the samurai had been trained well, and did not say a word. After hours and hours of the process, the police were forced to release him.

Bushido could not think of a way to possibly get the blueprints except to get them from the architect himself. He had no way of finding out who or where this person, was, though, and did not know how he could make him produce the blueprints without causing even more trouble. He walked through the city thinking about the situation. The Cabal…

He found himself next to a few suitcases and looked at them for a moment. One of them read _Argent_. He was about to grab it when he saw a tall, gaunt man with eerie eyes pass by. Just looking at the man creeped out even this most stoic samurai and sent shivers up his spine. After a few moments Bushido bent down to pick the suitcases up again but found, to his dismay, that a man dressed like a red wizard had picked them up and entered a taxi cab. Bushido shrugged and moved on.


End file.
